"A New Day for Science" (Winter
2002-03) made me feel like a man stranded in the desert trying
to reach an oasis. The collections of people and equipment in the
new Science Center are tantalizing. I worked in the old First Church
and in Severance labs when Harry Holmes was chairman of the chemistry
department, and I thought [zoology professor] Hope Hibbard was the
cat's pajamas. It breaks my heart to be unable to actually see and
create chemicals. Organic chemistry was my true love. I can't believe
anyone dreaming the impossible about life and science would do less
than pound the doors to get into Oberlin's current programs.

Dr. Bruce R. Heinzen '42
Plandome, N.Y.

DISSECTING DIVERSITY

Oberlin's admission of women and blacks in the 1830s
was indeed progressive, but its embrace of affirmative action was
regressive. President Nancy Dye ("Inside
Oberlin," Winter 2002-03) defends the practice with two
arguments. The first is that affirmative action assures diversity,
which "in and of itself can enrich the education of every student."
While it is true that affirmative action assures diversity, it is
also true that we would have a diverse student body without it.
Any college with an excellent reputation that welcomes diversity,
such as Oberlin, will attract a diverse body of students. But if
the mix of students that apply is not politically correct, must
we have affirmative action to enforce the "right kind"
of diversity? Does diversity enhance the quality of education? Perhaps,
but does that mean that schools with less diverse student populations,
such as southern black universities, schools that admit only women,
or schools with predominantly Jewish students have less to offer?
I think not.

President Dye's second argument is that affirmative
action helps "redress the still prevalent social and economic
inequalities in American life that are rooted in race." Inequality
does not imply injustice. The injustice of denying black students
admission to college is a thing of the past. Nonetheless, social
and economic inequality remains. This will not be corrected by higher
education's utopian efforts to be inclusive; it must begin early
on in a child's development and will require generations of cultural
change within families and communities. When an academically rigorous
institution lowers its standards for admission, but raises them
again in performance, students are destined to fail. There is the
real injustice.

David J. Marwil '70
Lexington, Ky.

ALIEN ENCOUNTERS

Robert
Naeye's letter (Winter 2002-03) about my article on the alien-encounter
phenomenon contains several distortions and inaccuracies. Accord-ing
to Naeye, I "claim" that "aliens are abducting human beings," and
I have not provided the physical evidence to prove this. But my
expressed concern is not primarily with whether abductions have
been taking place in a literal, physical sense. Rather, my article
focuses on the larger question of how we are to consider reports
of powerful experiences for which the physical evidence is meager
and runs counter to the consensus view of what is possible. I do
claim that "how we assess the reality of what a person reports in
the absence of compelling physical evidence" is important. Naeye
rejects intuition and experience as paths to truth and knowledge,
leaving us with the impression he believes all human reports must
be accompanied by physical evidence to be worthy of scientific consideration.

Naeye suggests that the encounter phenomenon
is related to false memories, fantasy proneness, or ideas implanted
by people like myself or Budd Hopkins '53. But there is no evidence
for any of that. The experiences are "mysterious and real," and
tens of thousands of hours of careful clinical work by many investigators
have failed to discover a conventional explanation. Naeye relies
on the authority of the majority to bolster his argument. But surely
he knows how often in history established authority has been wrong
when faced with anomalies that do not fit into an established paradigm.
Finally, Naeye offers as evidence the fact that his psychiatrist
friend has seen "thousands of patients," and none has ever told
him an abduction story. But surely he knows that patients will only
share matters to which they feel a therapist is open, especially
when these profoundly challenge consensus reality.

John Mack '51
Cambridge, Mass.

DELIGHTED DAD

I salute you for a consistently well-done publication.
From Nancy Dye's remarks to thought-provoking articles that address
a range of issues to interesting letters to the editor, it's all
first-class. Our daughter, Anala, who will graduate this May, was
"introduced" to Oberlin by Professor Longsworth when his family
hosted us during Orientation Weekend in 1999. Thus I enjoyed the
recent article about him as well as the letter to the editor from
Lauren Jacobs '00. Having watched the Ohio State-Miami football
game, I also thoroughly enjoyed the letter from Talbot Harding '33,
who is perhaps "the last person alive who watched Oberlin beat Ohio
State in 1921." How timely a letter! OAM always addresses at least
one or two topics in every issue that move me in some way--even
the recent alien abduction article by Dr. Mack and Robert Naeye's
response to it!

John Miller, parent
Honesdale, Pa.

COLLECTING MORE WINS

I send warm congratulations to the members of the
football team on their three wins/seven losses record in 2002--Oberlin's
best season in many years. As an alumna and longtime follower of
intercollegiate athletics, I have been excitedly watching football's
resurgence under the guidance of Coach Jeff Ramsey. I also recognize
President Nancy Dye for her strong support of the football program
and intercollegiate athletics in general. As Yeomen football players
and other student-athletes continually demonstrate on the playing
field and in the classroom, success in sports at the non-scholarship
NCAA Division III level truly goes hand-in-hand with academic achievement.
Most of all, my thanks to the Oberlin community, which supported
the continuation of the football program during its acutely difficult
years prior to the arrival of Dye and Ramsey. By saving football,
Oberlin avoided the mistake made by another esteemed college near
me, Swarthmore, which sadly dropped its struggling program in 2000
after 100 years of play.

Gloria Boylan Lobb '49
Flemington, N.J.

RESTORATION WARS

I was disappointed at the un-Oberlin-like politically
correct slant of "Restoration
Wars" (Fall '02) and annoyed by the misinformation. I refused
an invitation by Albert Albano to speak at a restorers' meeting
in Florida because I was asked by him not to speak out too harshly--in
other words, to "be nice." I am prepared to debate or
discuss with the entire Oberlin art family the recent record of
disasters in the art world as the result of drastic restorations,
starting one by one with Professor Albano and Eric Inglis, or with
the entire department and their restoration teachers together.

James Beck '52
New York, N.Y.

James Beck's anti-restoration campaign is nothing
more than a relativistic aesthetic fashion, the Cult of the Patina,
and it places the world's art treasures at risk. It is the same
attitude that says "let Venice sink." I work in the art trade in
Central Europe, and restoration decisions weigh just as heavily
on the second-rank art market as they do on the world of "priceless"
pieces. I have a few comments in response to Beck. 1. There is a
difference between restoration and conservation. With regard to
the commercial market, restoration can be a procedure that raises
a piece from market negligence to a market value that will insure
its longevity. 2. The final arbiter of how a piece should look is
the creator. In as much as we can know his or her intentions for
color, tone, finish, and polish, we should respect those intentions.
3. Most creators (with notable exceptions) desire the greatest possible
longevity for their creations, and restorations will be necessary
to insure that. 4. Original finishing products, such as varnish
and lacquer, which have limited life span, should not be given the
same priority as original content products such as paint, wood,
and metal. 5. Commercial art pieces (especially industrial art objects
like furniture) will see their longevity best insured when their
greatest possible market value is achieved, and this is often achieved
through restoration.

Jeff Taylor '90
Budapest, Hungary

PROPER CREDIT

Your book review of Gayden Wren's delightful book
A Most Ingenious Paradox: The Art of Gilbert and Sullivan
(Winter 2002-03) contained one egregious error. At the 2000 commencement,
the production of "Very Truly Yours, Gilbert and Sullivan"
by Wren celebrated the 50th anniversary of G&S at Oberlin. Therefore,
Gayden '83, whom I consider a friend and colleague, could not have
been the founder of Oberlin G&S. In fact, he was the re-founder
after a five-year hiatus. Oberlin G&S was essentially founded
in 1950 and shepherded for many years by W. Hayden Boyers, the beloved
professor of French and G&S aficionado. Many of us will never
forget our Oberlin G&S experiences, and some of us are still
performing it today.

Jim Cooper '64
Wilton, Conn.

Ed. note: You are correct, of course. Wren
should have been identified as co-founder of the revived G&S
Players.

FAMILIAR FACES

Tom
Witheridge's letter to the editor (Fall '02) about Norman Care
memorizing his students' names after just one class session brought
back a memory of Oberlin President William Stevenson. In 1954, one
of the first tasks for incoming freshmen was to have their pictures
taken for the Wolf Book at Stofan Studios. The Wolf Book, when published,
was the initial surveying instrument by which the incoming class
was assessed. A few weeks into the semester I saw Oberlin's dignified
president strolling across Tappan Square, accompanied by one of
his full-sized poodles, Nicholas (or Napoleon, I don't remember
which). What I do remember, which characterized Oberlin's care for
students at even the highest level, was when I greeted him with
a "Good day, President Stevenson!" he replied with "Good
day, Franklin!" This amazing man had memorized the faces of
the entire incoming class from the Wolf Book, and was able to address
everyone by name. Over the year I saw him do this repeatedly. No
doubt this was the paradigm for Norman Care.

Franklin Porath '58
Cleveland, Ohio

OFFERING RESPECTS

Professor Thomas Harold Andre LeDuc, whose death
was reported in the winter issue, was a wonderful teacher who communicated
his love of America's landscape and history so well that I remember
all four of his names after more than 50 years. He also cared about
his students. When my sophomore-year roommate, Hugh Jenkins, was
killed in the Korean War, it was Tom LeDuc who wrote me the sad
news while I was in law school. Professor LeDuc remembered that
I spent summers in the central Adirondacks, and he knew that country
well enough to end his letter by asking me to deliver his respects
"to the Raquette and the Cold"--two rivers that flow through the
wildest part of the central Adirondacks. Now it is my turn to offer
my respects and fond memories of one of Oberlin's finest and most
inspiring teachers.